Resistance continues to mount against Quebec’s proposed forestry reforms in Bill 97. The latest in a series of demonstrations saw 100 protesters march from Montreal’s Olympic Stadium June 22.
Tabled in April by Natural Resources Minister Maïté Blanchette Vézina, the legislation would divide forests into three categories: conservation zones, multi-purpose zones balancing conservation and development, and intensive logging zones. By 2028, Vezina suggested, at least 30% of Quebec’s forests would be used exclusively by industry.
While forestry corporations support it, Bill 97 is opposed by Indigenous leaders, environmental groups, unions and forestry researchers. Unions affiliated with the CSN say empowering industry to manage intensive forestry zones would rapidly deplete the resource, threatening long-term employment.
Professor Christian Messier, an expert on forest ecology, proposed the approach that inspired the bill in order to prioritize biodiversity. He said it should “not be implemented with the primary objective of helping the forestry industry.”
Quebec’s Forest Research Centre lamented a lack of consultation, and one professor argued it will result in “massive plant closures in 10 to 15 years.”
First Nations leaders firmly rejected the bill long before it was introduced. An open letter from 20 chiefs in December declared “you cannot partition the territory to dispossess us of part of our land and offer it to industry.”
Lac-Simon Anishnaabe Nation Chief Lucien Wabanonik called it a “direct provocation” that undermines First Nations rights in favour of forestry companies.
“This bill needs to be completely reformed,” said Francis Verreault-Paul, Regional Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec and Labrador. Disappointed that the AFNQL’s clear recommendations to the minister were ignored, he said the bill essentially gives industry the right to bypass consultations with First Nations.
While Bill 97 allows Indigenous activities in forestry zones, the AFNQL said that clause “in no way guarantees the preservation of the quality of these territories, which are essential to the preservation of their traditional ways of life, cultures and languages.”
Members of the Innu, Atikamekw and Abenaki nations organized the Mamo-Mamu alliance (meaning “together”). They have raised teepees to mark Indigenous sovereignty on unceded lands and staged road blockades to halt logging activities. One action blocked traffic to Montreal’s Jacques-Cartier Bridge during rush hour.
In May, Mamo-Mamu and the Association des Gardiens du territoire Nehirowisiw Aski (Abenaki) sent eviction notices to 11 forestry companies, ordering them to immediately remove their workers and equipment from unceded Indigenous territory. The registered letter targeted “multifunctional harvesters”, ordering companies to evacuate all employees and contractors.
Following public consultations and protests, Blanchette-Vézina suggested that “significant amendments will be made, particularly in collaboration with First Nations” when the National Assembly resumes after the summer. However, Premier François Legault later said that no major changes were planned.
On June 9, the Cree Nation Government announced it is conducting a detailed review of Bill 97 and meet with Quebec to ensure the legislation respects “treaty obligations, shared commitments and recognized governance structures.” The CNG affirmed that the bill does not take legal precedence over forestry provisions in 2002’s Paix des Braves agreement.
“The Paix des Braves is a legally binding agreement, and the Adapted Forestry Regime is incorporated by reference to the JBNQA, which is constitutionally protected,” read the statement. “As such, it forms part of the Cree Nation’s treaty framework and reflects the mutual obligations of both the Cree Nation and the Government of Québec.”
Under the Adapted Forestry Regime, the Cree are collaborators in the industry’s management plans. Cree traplines remain the basis for forest planning, with tallymen able to designate Sites of Special Interest (1%) and Areas of Wildlife Interest (25%).
However, many Cree land defenders feel that protected areas are insufficient, and that existing agreements are not being respected. One complaint is that wildlife habitat directives that were to be included in the Paix des Braves have yet to be implemented.
In 2023, the CNG paused consultations with the province after it blamed that summer’s massive forest fires for again failing to address the issue. While Schedule C-5 in the 2002 pact allows logging in 70% of a forest fire site, Crees say species like moose and bear feed from the new vegetation.
“It’s impossible for them to cut so much,” said Waswanipi forest expert Allan Saganash. “They only cut the first year, then say the lumber’s no good because there’s too many insects eating the trees. Many traplines closed from the fires were reopened because they’re having requests for biomass.”
Biomass can be processed at nearby Chapais Énergie as renewable fuel or feedstock. Following forest fires, companies salvage the remaining wood then mechanically scarify the land and eliminate competitive growth. Saganash explained that each stage damages the territory and is incompatible with the Cree way of life.
Cree tallymen are increasingly rejecting forestry plans that repeatedly ignore their wishes for trapline protection. Paul Dixon is currently in a conciliation process with the Cree-Quebec Forestry Board over his refusal to allow further logging activities on trapline W23A.
“I’m the first tallyman who said you can’t touch that burnt wood and requested they plant birch and poplar trees for mooseyards,” said Dixon. “They shouldn’t cut on hills and mountains, and should leave larger buffer zones of trees near shorelines.”
While the sudden disappearance of Lake Rouge on Dixon’s neighbouring trapline last month following a landslide continues to be investigated, forestry companies continue building roads and harvesting wood there. Although the disaster’s exact cause hasn’t been determined, many believe that salvage logging and scarification has exacerbated fire damage, removing root systems and the soil’s capacity to maintain the shorelines.
“Forestry has to change after Lake Rouge,” Dixon asserted. “There’s huge clear-cut mountains upriver at Opawica where a landslide could rush it out with such force. For Crees living in logged out areas, it’s getting dangerous.”